Pogoplug Mobile - enable SD card booting from Linux?

I've been working on my Pogoplug Mobile for a couple months now, (I only get an hour or two at a time to play with it), and I've finally got it up and running.

I want to enable booting from the SD card, but I can't seem to find instructions that connects the dots for exactly my setup.


SETUP HISTORY:
I installed Arch Linux using the regular guide from here: Pogoplug Series 4
Unfortunately the USB flash drive I used was very unstable, and would only successfully boot a fraction of the time. (I tried 6 different flash drives, until I figured out that most Kingston drives do not work well... and all my drives are Kingston).

In the process of debugging the drive I soldered in the serial debug header so I could see the boot spew, which was very helpful. (I only note this to save people asking if I've done that, and to show people this little guy: CP2102 - it's a USB-to-UART adapter based on Silicon Labs' CP2102 chipset. [I'm not promoting this seller; I didn't buy mine from him. I just wanted to show that they are selling for ~$2, shipped.] The driver support for this chipset is fantastic... everything from Win2k to Win8.1, also MacOS X, Linux, Android... even WinCE. And it has worked flawlessly for me. I have an older one with a Prolific chipset, and the stupid thing bluescreened Win7 on me... which is a feat!)

It took me a while to find a USB key that worked with my Mobile, but when I did, I just reinstalled the rootfs on the key and everything started working again.
(Note: 'reinstalling rootfs' was another one that was hard to find instructions for. I did it from a desktop Ubuntu box, using these instructions Reinstallation, but using ext3 instead of ext4, and replacing the .gz with the one from the original install link).

So now everything is working. Time to screw it all up again!


SDCARD BOOTING:
I found this SD card booting tutorial: [Pogoplug Series 4] Booting Debian with Arch Linux ARM uBoot
but it seem to focus on the Pogoplug v4, which makes me afraid it may not work correctly on the Mobile.
And it says I should go update to the new uBoot first: 2014.07 U-Boot for FDT and Non-FDT Kernel
and if I want Debian I should do this one: Linux Kernel 3.16 Kirkwood package and rootfs
... but when I look at those threads I get a nosebleed and have to go lie down for a while.

Then I found this blog post on Qnology.com that targeted the Mobile:
http://blog.qnology.com/2014/07/hacking-pogoplug-v4-series-4-and-mobile.html

but when I try this command:
#remount '/' as read only
mount -o remount,ro /

I get an error "mount: / is busy". I looked it up, and I guess that means there are still processes using files on "/".
The thread suggested trying "fuser -v -m /" to identify the offending processes, but I get a list of several dozen.

I feel like that is probably an indication of something being very different in the expected setup, so I stopped there.

QUESTIONS:
1. Can I follow the Qnology blog post and just skip the 'remount' steps, or will that break something later on?
2. If the answer to #1 is "yes, it will break something", what work-around do I need to perform in order to do this from a working Arch Linux install?

Thanks!

razorboy,

> SDCARD BOOTING:
> I found this SD card booting tutorial:
> [Pog
> oplug Series 4] Booting Debian with Arch Linux ARM
> uBoot
> but it seem to focus on the Pogoplug v4, which
> makes me afraid it may not work correctly on the
> Mobile.

This works fine for the Mobile.

> And it says I should go update to the new uBoot
> first:
> 2014
> .07 U-Boot for FDT and Non-FDT Kernel
> and if I want Debian I should do this one:
> Linu
> x Kernel 3.16 Kirkwood package and rootfs
> ... but when I look at those threads I get a
> nosebleed and have to go lie down for a while.
>

LOL :)) you should have asked questions where you don't understand. And then try to simply the instruction for V4/Mobile. If you had done that, I'd be happy to look it over and confirm whether you have it correct or not!

The instruction covers all Kirkwood boxes, so it seems complicate (I don't have time to write one for each box!!!). That's what Qui did in that blog post, and done a fine job, he simplified these instructions to work on V4/Mobile, to help newbies in the format of a tutorial.

-bodhi
===========================
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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/11/2014 10:06PM by bodhi.

razorboy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> QUESTIONS:
> 1. Can I follow the Qnology blog post and just
> skip the 'remount' steps, or will that break
> something later on?
> 2. If the answer to #1 is "yes, it will break
> something", what work-around do I need to perform
> in order to do this from a working Arch Linux
> install?

You can skip the two "remount" commands (or ignore the error message). They are not needed when following the tutorial on Arch Linux ARM. Everything else should be fine.

FYI - I've updated the tutorial to note this.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/12/2014 12:20PM by grayman4hire.

I also had a lot of issues setting up my pogo to boot up from the SD card. After many trials, I came up with these steps and posted it here:
http://forum.doozan.com/read.php?2,11663,16100#msg-16100

It is a comprehensive list of instructions beginning from when you first plug in your Pogo.

Step #5 references the first post in that thread, http://forum.doozan.com/read.php?2,11663,page=1

For each issue I encountered, I scoured the forums and improved the instructions with the solution. A lot of credit goes to bodhi and the other folks here who constantly answer questions and help out with every detail.

My steps also include warnings about the Kingston USB drives!

I have now set up multiple pogo mobiles booting up with SD cards, using the steps above.

velo

I followed the steps on Qui's blog and simply skipped the 'remount' commands, and now I've got Debian booting from an SD card on my Pogoplug Mobile! (He's updated the steps for people like me that aren't starting from a fresh box. There's one small typo remaining: this line: "mknod /dev/mmcblk0p1 b 179 1" should be: "mknod /tmp/mmcblk0p1 b 179 1". But other than that, it was quick and easy!)

Thanks a ton, guys!

I'm really loving this device! I don't really have any intended purpose for it, other than learning more about Arch and Debian. And I've learned a lot, so far! This community is really top-notch.

Now off to write some scripts to make the LEDs blink when I press the button!